Anne Lee

Chief Technology Office Partner, Nokia Bell Labs

Like so many areas in tech, AI remains male-dominated despite the critical role women have played in technology and computing innovation dating back to the 1800s. That’s why role models like Anne Lee are so important in helping encourage more girls and women to pursue jobs in the field. Lee is a pioneering software engineer and Nokia’s 2020 Ada Lovelace Honoree, an award named after the woman recognized as the first computer programmer. Along with an illustrious career driving innovation in IP communications, Lee is working to advance AI and machine learning in telecommunications, which will be essential to enabling sophisticated 5G and 6G services.

She is currently leading the technology strategy for AI & Data in her company both top down and bottom up. And she is also passionate about AI ethics, including eliminating bias in algorithms and designing AI solutions responsibly from the start.

Ian Foster

Division Director, Data Science and Learning, Argonne National Laboratory

Scientific discoveries are typically years in the making. Ian Foster and his team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are aiming to bring down that rate to mere days. By combining robotic systems with AI and machine learning, self-driving labs can automate and accelerate research processes, allowing human researchers to focus on more complex work. In time, machines may be able to not only handle precise and repetitive tasks but also conduct literature reviews, propose new research topics and even carry out follow-up studies on their own.

Rather than training AI systems to handle distinct tasks, Foster and his team at Argonne National Laboratory are aiming to create autonomous systems that can support multiple areas of research. This includes exploring how large language models like ChatGPT can help researchers ask the right questions and craft stronger hypotheses.

Congressman Bill Foster 

He was recently appointed to the Congressional AI Task Force. He is a scientist and businessman representing the 11th Congressional District of Illinois, a position he’s held since 2013. He also represented the 14th Congressional District of Illinois from 2008 to 2011. He is the only PhD physicist in Congress. 

Bill serves on the House Financial Services Committee where he advocates for consumer protections and an economy that works for everyone. In response to the Great Recession, he helped create several important reforms in the financial services and housing markets, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He currently serves as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy.
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